NFC Notes: Mathieu, Megatron, Saints

Patrick Peterson understands what it takes to negotiate a new contract with the Cardinals. For what it’s worth, the cornerback believes teammate and fellow defensive back Tyrann Mathieu‘s discussions with the organization won’t take particularly long.

“I was in kind of a similar situation when it was time for me to sign a new deal and obviously wanting a new deal,” Peterson said on PFT Live (via Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com). “Like I tell Tyrann all the time, let his agent handle that and also it’s gonna be a long, drawn out process, you just have to be patient. I know it will happen, just don’t know when it will happen but the Cardinals organization understands what Tyrann means to the football team, to the community, and when you have a top notch player like that, that just doesn’t happen overnight. It takes time and we have great ownership upstairs and the General Manager and the president and owner of the team. I mean those guys know at the end of the day what Tyrann means and like I said, I’m quite sure that the deal will get done here pretty soon.”

Reports indicated that the organization was ready to make Mathieu the highest-paid safety in the league, and talks seemed to be progressing. However, earlier this month, negotiations suddenly stalled, but there’s still optimism that a deal could be finalized by training camp.

As we await clarity on the Mathieu/Cardinals negotiations, let’s look at some more NFC notes…

• Recently-retired wideout Calvin Johnson held his “Catching Dreams” football camp today, and the former Lions star told Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press (via Twitter) that he won’t be returning to football. “I’m not coming back,” Johnson said (via Michael David Smith of ProFootballTalk.com). “You don’t have to worry about that.” The 30-year-old was clear that if he did return to the NFL, the comeback would be with the Lions.
• The hiring process for Saints assistant head coach Dan Campbell was more of a “recruitment” than an “interview,” coach Sean Payton told Mike Triplett of ESPN.com. Fortunately, Payton had an edge after having coached Campbell for nearly a decade.
• Meanwhile, Campbell, the Dolphins‘ interim head coach last season, was lured by the opportunity to work with Payton. “To me, it was a pretty easy sell,” he told Triplett. “And the biggest factor was Coach Payton. I know who he is, I know what he’s about. And hey, man, he’s proven himself as a coach.”